SIMLAB MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS F1

Our rating: 9.6/10

Simlab is a major player in the sim-racing industry, as well as being the official partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas eSport F1 team. This sim-racing brand mainly offers cockpits, which aren’t too expensive to be honest, but also peripherals such as dashboards, button panels and so on. Simlab’s catalog is rather comprehensive, but suffers from a lack of products, at least when it comes to cockpits. The Dutch brand came into being in 2015 when its founder couldn’t find quality cockpits, without blowing his sim-racing budget. And that’s why Simlab’s products aren’t really expensive, compared to the competition.

To expand its range of peripherals, Simlab has acquired Grid Engineering in 2021, and has added a number of products to its catalog, including some steering wheels and other accessories. Speaking of wheels, Simlab has a few of its own, mainly barebones developed and manufactured in partnership with OMP and Sparco.

But for 2024, the Dutch brand has given us a pleasant surprise by developing, in partnership with Mercedes-AMG, a steering wheel for sim-racing: the F1. C’est une roue en licence officielle AMG pour les monoplaces inscrites en Formula 1, et dans ce qui suit, nous allons voir ce volant de plus près.

Main and technical features of the steering wheel

• F1-type steering wheel with 28 cm diameter
• Weighs 1.24 kg with QR hub
• Carbon fiber structure
• Large 4.3″ display on the front panel with 480×800 resolution, and a glass panel to protect it
• Rear-mounted paddles for Push-Pull gears
• 12 buttons and 9 rotary switches on front panel, with 2 additional buttons on rear panel
• Compatible with all PC bases with a 70 mm QR pattern
• Compatible with RaceDirector and SimHub
• Connection to PC via Lumberg/USB, and rear-attachable cable
• RevLED on top of front panel

Design

In terms of design, it’s nothing more or less than a replica of the steering wheels found in the single-seaters ofHamilton and Russell. On retrouve une forme très caractérisée des volants de F1, avec des poignées ouvertes vers le bas. Au centre du plastron, l’écran de 4.3’’ prend place, fournissant de nombreuses informations sur les courses et votre monoplace.

All around the steering wheel are the controls, including buttons and rotary switches in all sorts of colors. The steering wheel is flashy, even if its structure remains sober. Nevertheless, Simlab’s F1 is a handsome steering wheel that will delight single-seater fans.

Customized assembly

Just like Grid’s flywheels, the Simlab F1 features a universal hub with a 70 mm pattern that accommodates virtually all Direct Drive bases with QR available on the market. You can easily use this wheel with Simagic, Simucube, Fanatec, Moza and other bases.

Fitting the QR is very quick, and everything you need to carry out the operation is included with the wheel, in the box. All you have to do is screw the QR Wheel Side of your base to the F1 hub, and you’re ready to go. You may need a hub for some bases, and these are not sold with the Simlab F1.

Manufacturing and finishing

As an officially licensed AMG F1 wheel, the entire structure of the Simlab wheel is made of carbon fiber. The grips are wrapped in silicone to provide a good level of grip, whether you’re wearing gloves or not.

As far as build quality is concerned, it’s very premium, and that’s only to be expected when you consider the price this little gem is sold for, but we’ll come back to that point below. All the parts of this wheel, whether buttons, rear paddles, rotary switches or screen, are perfectly assembled on the Simlab F1.

At the rear, the steering wheel has 3 paddles, including one for the clutch and 2 for the gears. The latter is in fact a single paddle in carbon-fiber Push-Pull configuration. This means you can change gears with just one hand, and it’s made of carbon fiber, so it’s premium.

Handling the steering wheel

The Simlab F1 is 28 cm in diameter, with handles that open downwards. The result is excellent ergonomics, perfect for long sim-racing sessions on F1 24.

What’s more, all the controls are close to your hands, so you don’t have to remove them to operate a specific function. Well, that’s not the case with the rotary switches under the screen, but that’s what F1 drivers do too.

Speaking of the screen, it’s 4.3” diagonal and provides excellent readability of the information displayed on it. You can configure it as you see fit, and the same goes for the RevLED, all via RaceDirector and SimHub on PC.

As for the rear paddles, the gearshift paddles are Push-Pull, made entirely of carbon fiber. Easily accessible, they can be used without too much effort on your part.

Sensations during play

The Simlab F1 is a flywheel that needs to be coupled to a good Direct Drive base, developing at least 15 nm of torque. On a Simucube 2 Sport, or a Simucube 2 Pro for that matter, but the latter spits out far more torque than it needs, the F1 is a pure delight to use.

In-game sensations are superb, with excellent reproduction of effects. The hub on the rear allows a motionless connection with the base QR, ensuring excellent in-game feel. The rear paddles, especially the gearshift paddles, are superb to use. The Push-Pull configuration lets you shift gears with one hand, as Hamilton or Russell do, while being able to change switches with the other, for example.

What’s more, the silicone grips are of the highest quality, ensuring grip during even the longest sim-racing sessions. The Simlab F1 is quite simply the ultimate steering wheel for fans of motorsport’s premier discipline, and can also be used for endurance racing on Le Mans protos.

Compatibility

As for Direct Drive bases, the Simlab F1 is compatible with those from Simucube, Fanatec, Moza, Simagic, Asetek and VRS. The list is exhaustive on the Simlab website, with almost complete peripheral support, provided you have the right hubs.

As far as sim-racing titles are concerned, this is an F1 steering wheel, so EA’s title is supported, as are the tenors of the industry, but only on PC.

Value for money

So, the Simlab Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 costs almost €2,700 on the sim-racing brand’s website, which is very expensive for a wheel. But don’t forget that this is an official AMG-Petronas F1 eSport team wheel, and it’s virtually identical to the one found in Hamilton and Russell’s single-seaters.

The value for money is very good, if you ignore the retail price of course. Between the carbon fiber, the huge screen and the controls, this steering wheel is pure bliss.

My verdict

Is the Simlab F1 an excellent steering wheel for motorsport and endurance racing? Yes, it’s more than excellent. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the ultimate steering wheel for endurance racing, provided you’ve got the right setup to go with it, and the bank account too.

Clearly, Simlab won’t be selling these steering wheels by the bucketload, given the manufacturer’s asking price (€2,700), but they’re sure to find takers among fans of F1 and endurance single-seaters and other prototypes on iRacing and any other simulation title.

If your sim-racing setup focuses solely on the motorsport disciplines I’ve just mentioned, and you’ve got a good budget for your passion, then you might consider this wheel to add to your collection of state-of-the-art tools. But if you do a bit of everything in sim-racing, this certainly isn’t the best option as a steering wheel, unless, of course, you have a wheel for every discipline.